We Are Now Beginning Our Descent

Description

A timeless tale of folly and the pursuit of love, set against the incendiary politics of our timeThe message was short. 'I want to see you now. I want you to come to me, it doesn't matter how late it is, and tell me exactly what you want from me.'Like the world around him, at the dawn of the twenty-first century Adam Kellas's life is showing distinct signs of cracking apart. Against his better judgement, Kellas - divorced, unstable, spurned by his lover and by the world of letters - accepts a war assignment from his newspaper.It is the beginning of a journey which takes him from the mountains of Afghanistan to the elegant dinner tables of north London, the marshlands of the American South and, ultimately, to the darkest realms of the human imagination. Only the memory of the beautiful, elusive Astrid, a fellow reporter in Afghanistan, offers him the possibility of hope.show more

About James Meek

James Meek was born in London in 1962. He now lives in London where he writes for the Guardian, the London Review of Books and Granta. Meek's acclaimed novel, The People's Act of Love, won the Royal Society of Literature Ondaatje Prize in 2006.show more

Review quote

'Grapples unhesitatingly with the defining forces of our time. ...Meek treats his readers as the ideal that Kellas no longer believes in: critical, thoughtful people with minds of their own. That's unusual and flattering, and that trust in and respect for the reader relieves the darkness of Kellas' vision.' * Listener * 'Meek, an accomplished journalist and novelist, manages to create truly believable characters in an unbelievably real world...Seemingly familiar characters and settings become utterly original with Meek's tremendous attention to detail...If you haven't read James Meek, this is a good place to start.' * Big Issue Australia * '[Meek's] masterful skill as a storyteller is on display throughout.' * Literary Review * 'Meek is a fine writer, and many sharp, droll lines pepper his text.' -- Lionel Shriver * Telegraph Review * 'A tale of personal redemption as well as an ambitious exploration of the contemporary political scene...Meek has created not just an entertaining novel, but a valuable comment on some of the most contentious issues of our time.' * Irish Times * 'Damnably hard to put down.' -- Jonathan Raban * London Review of Books *show more